Food storage container

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a food storage container including a container body including a bottom part and a lateral part to form an interior space, a bottom film attached to the bottom part, and a lateral film forming a first overlapping part where the lateral film overlaps with the bottom film and a second overlapping part where an end portion overlaps with another end portion, and being attached to the lateral part. The food storage container has an improved film structure as compared with a conventional complicated film structure and has a high oxygen barrier performance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2010-0075699, filed on Aug. 5, 2010, in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the entire content of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The embodiment relates to a food storage container, and moreparticularly, to a food storage container which has an improved filmstructure as compared with a conventional complicated film structure andhas a high oxygen barrier performance.

2. Discussion of Related Art

There are various types of retort pouches being on the market.Generally, a retort pouch is to preserve food for a long time, beingblocked from air and light, and is manufactured as follows: cooked andprocessed food is sealed into a container, followed by heating andsterilization at a high temperature via a retort sterilization process.The retort sterilization process includes a high-retort sterilization,performed at 125° C. or more, a standard retort sterilization, performedat 121° C., a semi-retort sterilization, performed around 110° C., andthe like. In addition to the retort sterilization process, there areused various methods, such as a heating sterilization of sterilizingwith heat of 100° C. or less for a predetermined period of time, ahot-filling in which contents are sterilized at a high temperature andsealed in a container, or the like. Further, non-sterilization isperformed on products which do not need sterilizing.

In order to preserve food sterilized through the above processes ornon-sterilized for a long time, a food storage container has a highoxygen barrier performance. Conventionally, in order to have a highoxygen barrier performance, a film having a high barrier performance isin-molded on an outside of the container, but a portion, such as acorner of the container, may not be in-molded to reduce oxygen barrierperformance.

Further, a method of providing oxygen barrier performance to a containerusing injection resin having a high barrier performance is used, but theinjection resin is expensive, and oxygen barrier performance decreaseswhen the resin having the high barrier performance is not uniformeddistributed.

In addition, there are more methods, such as a method that a highbarrier performance sheet is thermally molded into a container shape andinserted into an injection container, a method of inserting a film intoan inside of a container and injecting, a method of thermally molding ahigh barrier performance sheet of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) ormeta-xylylene diamine (MXD-6), or the like.

In the method that the high barrier performance sheet is thermallymolded into the container shape and inserted into the injectioncontainer, thermally molding the high barrier performance sheet andinjection are separately performed to bring about a complicated process,and an entire thickness of the container becomes thick due to thethermally molded sheet.

In the method of inserting the film into the inside of the container andinjecting, the film has a complicated structure so that a vacuum is notformed when the film is attached to the container, and thus amanufacturing process is difficult. Moreover, since the film is shapedin advance and inserted, an additional manufacturing process is needed.

In the thermally molded container of EVOH or MXD-6, oxygen barrierperformance decreases in a sterilization process and is not uniformdepending on a difference in thickness of the container to reduce anexpiration data.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to provide a food storagecontainer in which a film to be attached to an inside of the containeris divided into two sheets and attached, so that a conventionalcomplicated film structure is improved, a process of shaping the film isnot necessary, and manufacturing costs are reduced.

Further, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a food storagecontainer in which a film forms a first overlapping part and a secondoverlapping part to be closely attached to an inside of the containeralthough the film is divided into two sheets, so that oxygen barrierperformance is improved to preserve food in the container for a longtime.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided afood storage container including a container body including a bottompart and a lateral part to form an interior space, a bottom filmattached to the bottom part, and a lateral film forming a firstoverlapping part where the lateral film overlaps with the bottom filmand a second overlapping part where an end portion overlaps with anotherend portion, and being attached to the lateral part.

The container body may be integrated with the respective films by insertmolding.

The bottom film and the lateral film each may include a lower layerformed of polypropylene (PP), at least one oxygen barrier resin layerdisposed on the lower layer, and an upper layer disposed on the oxygenbarrier resin layer and formed of PP.

The oxygen barrier resin layer may include polyethylene terephthalate(PET).

The bottom film and the lateral film each may further include an ivorywhite layer disposed between the lower layer and the oxygen barrierresin layer and formed of ivory white PP or ivory white PET.

The container body may further include a flange extending outwards froman upper portion of the lateral part, the lateral film may be attachedto an upper surface of the flange as well as to the lateral part, andthe food storage container may further include a lead film attached tothe lateral film on the upper surface of the flange.

The lead film may include a lower layer formed of PP, at least oneoxygen barrier resin layer disposed on the lower layer, and an upperlayer disposed on the oxygen barrier resin layer and formed of PP.

The oxygen barrier resin layer may include PET.

The oxygen barrier resin layer may have an oxygen transmission rate of0.07 cc/m²·day·atm to 0.09 cc/m²·day·atm.

Display information may be printed on a lower surface of the ivory whitelayer.

As described above, exemplary embodiments of the present inventionprovides a food storage container in which a film to be attached to aninside of the container is divided into two sheets and attached, so thata conventional complicated film structure is improved, a process ofshaping the film is not necessary, and manufacturing costs are reduced.

Further, exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a foodstorage container in which a film forms a first overlapping part and asecond overlapping part to be closely attached to an inside of thecontainer although the film is divided into two sheets, so that oxygenbarrier performance is improved to preserve food in the container for along time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, together with the specification, illustrateexemplary embodiments of the present invention, and, together with thedescription, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a food storage container accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of a part A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2B illustrates a first overlapping part;

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a second overlapping part;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a bottom film and a lateral film;and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the food storage container furtherincluding a flange.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain thepresent invention by referring to the figures. This invention may,however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construedas limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. In the drawings, the size and relative sizes oflayers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings illustrating a food storagecontainer according to exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a food storage container accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the food storage container according to the presentembodiment includes a container body 10, a bottom film 21, and a lateralfilm 22.

The container body 10 forms an interior space 16 in which preserved foodis put, and includes a bottom part 12 and a lateral part 14 to form theinterior space 16 which is open upwards.

The bottom part 12 may be formed in a plate shape and may be slightlymodified, for example, bent, grooved, or the like.

The lateral part 14 is formed to extend upwards from an edge of thebottom part 12 and functions to close a lateral side of the containerbody 10.

The bottom film 21 is attached to the bottom part 12 on an upper side ofthe bottom part 12, as shown in FIG. 1.

The lateral film 22 is attached to the lateral part 14 on an internalside of the lateral part 14, as shown in FIG. 1.

The bottom film 21 and the lateral film 22 form a first overlapping partand a second overlapping part to eliminate a portion where the films arenot attached in the container body 10.

The container body 10 may be formed of synthetic resins, such astransparent plastic, and is integrated with the bottom film 21 and thelateral film 22 by a film insert molding.

The film insert molding is a process that by inserting a preformed filminto a mold before injection molding, the film and a molded part areintegrated into a product, simultaneously with injection.

FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of a part A of FIG. 1, FIG. 2B illustratesthe first overlapping part, and FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate the secondoverlapping part. Hereinafter, the first overlapping part 31 and thesecond overlapping part 32 are described further with reference to FIGS.2A to 3B.

First, the first overlapping part 31 is a portion where the lateral film22 overlaps with the bottom film 21 and is formed to eliminate a vacuum,where the film is not attached, formed between the lateral film 22 andthe bottom film 21.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the lateral film 22 is disposed over the bottomfilm 21, but the lateral film 22 may be disposed under the bottom film21.

In FIG. 2A, a space formed between the bottom film 21 and the lateralpart 14 is exaggerated for clarity. Practically, each film isconsiderably thin and is thermally attached to the inside of thecontainer body 10, and thus the space due to the first overlapping part31 is greatly small or the space may not exist.

Further, in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the first overlapping part 31 is formed onthe lateral part 14 but may be formed in different positions, such asaround a corner between the bottom part 12 and the lateral part 14, onthe bottom part 12, or the like.

The second overlapping part 32 is a portion where the lateral film 22overlaps with itself, that is, a portion where one end portion 221 ofthe lateral film 22 overlaps with another end portion 222.

The second overlapping part 32 is formed to closely cover the entirelateral part 14 without a vacuum being formed when the lateral film 22is attached to the lateral side 14.

The first overlapping part 31 and the second overlapping part 32 areattached by heat in an injection molding process, wherein the bottomfilm 21 is thermally attached to the lateral film 22 in the firstoverlapping part 31, and the one end portion 221 is thermally attachedto the other end portion 222 in the second overlapping part 32.

Thus, a film to be attached to the inside of the container body 10 isdivided into two sheets to be attached to the bottom part 12 and thelateral part 14, respectively, thereby improving a conventionalcomplicated film structure, not involving a manufacturing process ofshaping a film, and reducing manufacturing costs.

Further, although the film is divided into two sheets, the firstoverlapping part 31 and the second overlapping part 32 are formed sothat the film is closely attached to the inside of the container body10. Accordingly, oxygen barrier performance is enhanced to preserve foodin the container for a long time.

Although FIGS. 2B and 3B show the respective overlapping parts 31 and 32being formed straightly and having a regular width, a size and a shapeof the respective overlapping parts 31 and 32 may be changed dependingon a size and a shape of the respective films 21 and 22, a size and ashape of the container body 10, or the like.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the bottom film and the lateralfilm.

Referring to FIG. 4, in the food storage container according to theexemplary embodiment, the bottom film 21 and the lateral film 22 eachinclude a lower layer 51, an oxygen barrier resin layer 53, and an upperlayer 54 which are sequentially disposed.

Further, the respective films 21 and 22 may further include an ivorywhite layer 52 disposed between the lower layer 51 and the oxygenbarrier resin layer 53. The ivory white layer 52, which is ivory white,is included to prevent a color of food in the container from being seenfrom the outside. The ivory white layer 52 may be formed of ivory whitepolypropylene (PP) or ivory white polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Display information may be printed on a lower surface of the ivory whitelayer 52. The display information printed on the lower surface of theivory white layer 52 includes pictures and forms including patterns,designs, and characters, such as flowers and butterflies, productrelated information, such as barcodes and labels, letters, or the like,but is not limited thereto.

The display information is printed on an inside of a film to beinsert-molded and is exposed to the outside through the container body10, and thus damage which may occur when a sticker or label is attachedto an outside of the container is prevented in designing the container.

Here, the lower layer 51 and the upper layer 54 may be formed of PP.

Further, the oxygen barrier resin layer 53 may be formed of PET. Aplurality of oxygen barrier resin layers 53 may be included in therespective films 21 and 22 to improve oxygen barrier performance, and anoxygen transmission rate (OTR) may be 0.07 cc/m²·day·atm to 0.09cc/m²·day·atm.

An OTR is measured on the container of the present invention and othercontainers using an oxygen permeation rate tester (OX-TRAN, a registeredtrademark, manufactured by MOCON, Inc.).

Experimental objects: A container of the present invention, a containerhaving a general barrier film in-molded on an outside, a thermallymolded container of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), and a thermallymolded container of meta-xylylene diamine (MXD-6).

Experimental conditions: Contents (food) are put in an object containerand retort-sterilized, after which an OTR is measured at 23° C. and arelative humidity (RH) of 0% within 6 hours.

An OTR is measured as follows (cc/pkg/24 h·atm).

TABLE 1 Container of General barrier the present film in-molded EVOHMXD-6 invention container container container Before retort 0.002 0.80.004 0.005 sterilization After retort 0.003 1.0 0.12 0.03 sterilization

As shown in Table 1, the container of the present invention has a lowerOTR before retort sterilization than the other containers.

Further, the other containers have a considerably increased OTR afterretort sterilization, while the container of the present invention has aslightly increased OTR after retort sterilization.

Thus, the container of the present invention has an OTR before retortsterilization slightly different from the other containers, but has anOTR after retort sterilization considerably different from the othercontainers.

Accordingly, the container of the present invention still has a superioroxygen barrier performance after retort sterilization as compared withthe other containers.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the food storage container furtherincluding a flange.

Referring to FIG. 5, the container body 10 further includes a flange 18extending outwards from an upper end portion of the lateral part 14.

The lateral film 22 is attached to an upper surface of the flange 18 aswell as to the lateral part 14. That is, the lateral film 22 coveringthe lateral part 14 extends to the flange 18 to cover the upper surfaceof the flange 18. Here, the lateral film 22 may form the secondoverlapping part 32 on the upper surface of the flange 18 to closelycover the upper surface of the flange 18.

Thus, a lead film 60 is thermally attached to the lateral film 2, sothat food in the container is thoroughly blocked from the outside due tothe film having a high oxygen barrier performance.

The lead film 60 functions to seal the interior space of the containerbody 10 and is attached to the lateral film 22 disposed on the uppersurface of the flange 18.

The lead film 60 may have the same configuration as the respective films21 and 22 in order to prevent oxygen from permeating the container.

That is, the lead film 60 includes a lower layer 51 and an upper layer54 which are formed of PP, and an oxygen barrier resin layer 53 disposedbetween the lower layer 51 and the upper layer 54.

Further, the oxygen barrier resin layer 53 may be formed of PET, and aplurality of oxygen barrier resin layers 53 may be included to improveoxygen barrier performance.

While the present invention has been described in connection withcertain exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, isintended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangementsincluded within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, andequivalents thereof.

1. A food storage container comprising: a container body including abottom part and a lateral part to form an interior space; a bottom filmattached to the bottom part; and a lateral film forming a firstoverlapping part where the lateral film overlaps with the bottom filmand a second overlapping part where an end portion overlaps with anotherend portion, and being attached to the lateral part.
 2. The food storagecontainer of claim 1, wherein the container body is integrated with therespective films by insert molding.
 3. The food storage container ofclaim 1, wherein the bottom film and the lateral film each comprise: alower layer formed of polypropylene (PP); at least one oxygen barrierresin layer disposed on the lower layer; and an upper layer disposed onthe oxygen barrier resin layer and formed of PP.
 4. The food storagecontainer of claim 3, wherein the oxygen barrier resin layer comprisespolyethylene terephthalate (PET).
 5. The food storage container of claim3 or 4, wherein the bottom film and the lateral film each furthercomprise an ivory white layer disposed between the lower layer and theoxygen barrier resin layer and formed of ivory white PP or ivory whitePET.
 6. The food storage container of claim 1, wherein the containerbody further comprises a flange extending outwards from an upper portionof the lateral part, the lateral film is attached to an upper surface ofthe flange as well as to the lateral part, and the food storagecontainer further comprises a lead film attached to the lateral film onthe upper surface of the flange.
 7. The food storage container of claim6, wherein the lead film comprises: a lower layer formed of PP; at leastone oxygen barrier resin layer disposed on the lower layer; and an upperlayer disposed on the oxygen barrier resin layer and formed of PP. 8.The food storage container of claim 7, wherein the oxygen barrier resinlayer comprises PET.
 9. The food storage container of claim 4 or 8,wherein the oxygen barrier resin layer has an oxygen transmission rateof 0.07 cc/m²·day·atm to 0.09 cc/m²·day·atm.
 10. The food storagecontainer of claim 5, wherein display information is printed on a lowersurface of the ivory white layer.